NEW DELHI: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of caving in to pressure from former U.S. President Donald Trump and halting India’s purchase of Russian oil.
In a post on social media, the senior Congress leader claimed that Modi was “afraid of Trump” and allowed him to publicly announce that India would stop buying Russian oil.
Rahul Gandhi said that despite repeated humiliation, Modi continued to send congratulatory messages to Trump, skipped the Gaza Conference, and failed to respond to Trump’s statements regarding the Pakistan–India ceasefire.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also targeted the Indian premier, calling him “Narendra Complete Surrender,” while Congress General Secretary for Communications Jairam Ramesh described the decision to reduce Russian oil imports as evidence of the government “buckling under U.S. pressure.”
The criticism followed Trump’s remarks at the Oval Office, where he told reporters that Modi had assured him India would no longer purchase oil from Russia.
Later, White House officials told Reuters that India had cut Russian oil imports by 50 percent, but did not specify whether the country would completely halt purchases in the future.
The U.S. has been pushing India to scale back its energy ties with Russia amid geopolitical tensions stemming from the Ukraine conflict.
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